Well geeks this the sort of news that should have us all jumping for joy, DRUNKEN MASTER 2 re-released to the big screen, but...
I've got wind that Dimension is re-releasing Jackie Chan's masterpiece, Drunken Master II to big screens everywhere this summer. It's an obvious, yet intelligent attempt to capitalize on Spyglass' Shanghai Noon. Disney really knows how to work with its subsidaries...
Anyway, word on what they're doing to the film is NOT good. Does anybody remember Operation Condor? That was a Dimension release also, and they butchered that film beyond recognition. See the original film to see how cool it really is - not only did they cut out non-action scenes but they absolutely RAPED many of the action scenes as well, and they re-edited other scenes within the film to make it move "more quickly". The result is a very choppy looking film that makes no sense whatsoever. The climactic wind-tunnel scene in the original is fantastically directed... It builds in suspense and the pacing is just right. In the Miramax version they cut the scene basically in half, removing some of the coolest bits and absolutely destroying any pacing or drama in the scene. Basically, all of what was really good about that film was gone, because Dimension felt the need to "re-edit" the film for us.
The same thing is happening on Drunken Master II, and that's an even bigger mistake. First of all, they're taking the CLASSIC musical score of that film - a score that makes the film seem so epic and grand - and simply dumping it. Why? Who knows, but I guess they feel the need to fix something that is the very opposite of broken. I can see that they'd probably need to re-record the score, but they're dumping it all together and writing their own new score for the film(if you've heard the "new scores" on other stateside Chan re-releases you know how painful this will be compared to the original). That's gotta be more expensive to do than just re-recording it, and you know they new score has very little chance of being as good, so WHY DO IT??? Bad move #1. Anybody who loves the original film - a demographic that includes just about anybody who's ever seen it - will no doubt be livid over Dimension's brash and utterly non-sensical move to change the score.
Even worse - Dimension is cutting the fight scenes. You heard me right. Their daring to mess with the equivalent of the Jackie Chan Holy Grail here, and trust me, people are gonna be PISSED off about it. In past re-releases, both New Line and Dimension have tended to cut more of the martial arts scenes and favored the "action" scenes, because they think American audiences don't want to see long fight scenes(if they just stepped into a theater and listened to Joe Public's response to the ladder scene in First Strike, say, they'd see that those scenes are what people are impressed most by - everybody does action, but only Jackie Chan can do THAT). They try to turn the films into more "action-oriented" films to be more "palatable" to American audiences.
Well, sorry, but Drunken Master II IS fight scenes - there are no "action" scenes in it at all. It's all martial arts, and therefore THAT'S what people will be coming to see. This is not an "action film", it's a MARTIAL ARTS film, and you can't hide that. Why weaken it by taking out the very parts people are there for?
We're not gonna stop them from cutting out other, non-action parts of the film, but we do have a very strong case for leaving the fight scenes intact. Firstly, it's exactly what people are gonna be there to see - if you don't like long fight scenes you're not gonna go to a straight martial arts movie, right? And if they touch a single FRAME of these magnificent production numbers/works of art/ballets of human motion/whatever you want to call them, Jackie Chan fans will be so upset that they WON'T recommend the film, and they WON'T return to the theaters for repeat viewings. Repeat viewings of this film will be a no brainer to Chan fans if it's done right(we all can't wait to see it on the big screen), and the average moviegoer will probably come back with friends in tow if the film stays as good as it is now. I've seen it many times - a group of unsuspecting college guys or something going absolutely BONKERS over the film, and going to get other people so they can show them this eigth wonder of the world. What were they going nuts over? Gee, I wonder... It's the fight scenes, stupid.
If the film is cut, there will be NO word of mouth, because Chan fans will be too pissed off to go back, instead opting to curl up with their original copy at home. Also, the general public will see the film and wonder what all the fuss is about. They need to release the film with the fight scenes intact(and the original score), and promote the film as "The Greatest Martial Arts Film Ever Made". It's a statement with undeniable support, and such a hard sell will definitely drive curiousity in the marketplace. Many people have already heard that it's supposed to be Chan's best, and if it's billed that way, as this amazing martial arts film, they WILL go to it.
If it's cut, people are gonna come away disappointed, and Chan fans won't be repeat viewers, and won't tell their friends to go. They're already pushing it big time by changing the wonderful score, but if they cut action scenes, which reportedly they ARE doing, then they're gonna have a flop on their hands. It's a straight martial arts film. That's WHAT IT IS. Let it be that, promote it as that, and show it to us in all it's glory. Don't sabotage the film's strengths, which are the fight scenes, by editing them. That makes zero sense. Even a monkey can see that if people are going to the theater to see fight scenes then you should give them the best fight scenes possible. Jackie Chan has already done that in spades with Drunken Master II - Dimension, please don't rob the general public of the experience of seeing the Greatest Martial Arts film ever made...
Harry, I know you're a fan of this masterpiece - please do something, ANYTHING about this. Oh yeah, they also need to take the obvious step when making the DVD of including the ORIGINAL soundtrack on one of the tracks. There's no reason in the world NOT to do this and it would only increase sales dramatically. I know I sound a bit overzealous here but I know how many people are gonna crap themselves if Dimension screws this film up. It's too well-respected and just flat out TOO GOOD to kill with re-editing. Let's do what we can to save it.
Shanghi Lil
